It was originally minted as a universal coin exchangeable with any currency around the world. Two varieties of the Stella were made: flowing hair, designed by Charles E. Barber, and coiled hair, designed by George T. Morgan. The flowing hair variety is the most commonly seen variety. Even though the coin was designed as a pattern coin, similar to the Gobrecht dollar, many catalogs list the coin as a regular-issue item.

It was originally minted as a universal coin exchangeable with any currency around the world. Two varieties of the Stella were made: flowing hair, designed by Charles E. Barber, and coiled hair, designed by George T. Morgan. The flowing hair variety is the most commonly seen variety. Even though the coin was designed as a pattern coin, similar to the Gobrecht dollar, many catalogs list the coin as a regular-issue item.